– Source NRC –
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a request by Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO) to increase the generating capacity of Surry Power Station Units 1 and 2 by 1.6 percent each.
The NRC staff determined that VEPCO could safely increase the reactors' output primarily through more accurate means of measuring feedwater flow. NRC staff also reviewed the company's evaluations showing the plant's design can accommodate the increased power level.
The NRC's safety evaluation of the plant's proposed power uprate focused on several areas, including the nuclear steam supply systems, instrumentation and control systems, electrical systems, accident evaluations, radiological consequences, fire protection, operations and training, testing, and technical specification changes.
The power uprate for Surry, located approximately 17 miles northwest of Newport News, Va., will increase each unit's generating capacity from approximately 842 to 857 megawatts electric. VEPCO intends to implement the uprate by November.
The NRC previously published a notice about the power uprate application in the Federal Register ( http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-7451.pdf page 17447). The agency's evaluation of the Surry power uprate will be available through the NRC's ADAMS electronic document database by entering ML101750002 on this webpage: http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm .